Intro:

Finding underwear in used car I just bought. Yuck.

Some things are set apart for specific uses and specific people.

Toothbrushes

Wedding china not used for your Saturday morning cereal bowl.

Mom’s pinking shears not used for cutting out cool shapes on paper.

We “get it” instinctively that some things are not common. They’re special because of their purpose or perhaps an emotional attachment.

That uniqueness, special regard is the idea behind the biblical concept of holiness.

As we’ve traced the Core52 ideas so far, we’ve seen how God made everything (Creation) and put his apex creation in the world (humanity as his image-bearers) to have dominion over that creation. But humanity did not choose to remain faithful to God and rebelled (The Fall from Grace). God ultimately chooses to initiate his restoration of creation through making an agreement with one man, Abram ( Covenant).

Logically, the next concept to consider will be how we live in that covenant with God. 

God repeatedly says that we are to be holy because He is holy.

•      [VIDEO] Pixar movie Up intro scene.

•      Where did we learn to love, commit like that?

•      Last week we saw the destruction wrought by temptation and rebellious choices.

•      For the next 8 chapters of Genesis, humanity replays Adam and Eve’s sin to the point that God has to start the world over with Noah:

•      Even this extreme act doesn’t wipe out the predisposition to sin, to buy into the devil’s lie that we can be like God.

•      But in chapter 12, God chooses a man to create a family and eventually a nation to work his will. That man was Abram.

•      It is with Abram that God makes a covenant.

Genesis 15:6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

How did we get into this mess? It started a long time ago, in a Garden.

[SERMON BUMPER VIDEO] - Apollo 8 astronauts reading from 

Noteworthy that humanity’s reaction to being in space was to search for the answer to the fundamental question of existence.

The answer offered wasn’t science but scripture. The “origin story” is as old as mankind.

The origin question the astronauts struggled with on a cosmic scale is the same question nearly every small child recognizes and asks of her parents: “Where did I come from?”

In the 21st c. it is unfashionable and “simplistic” to say that everything exists because God made it. But that is precisely the answer given over 5,000 years ago in the beginning of God’s revelation to mankind. His words to His creation. We call this collection the Bible.

It makes sense to begin in the beginning to study the Bible with the goal of being transformed.

Genesis 1:1 ESV In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1–2 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

In the beginning -  We orient ourselves to the world by time and location, beginnings and endings. Space.

God - The agent of creation. Unlike the pagan origin stories, God exists before anything materializes.

the pagan stories have the material world first and gods created from the struggle between chaos and order.

Created - God is over and supersedes anything in the universe. He is eternal, matter is temporary.

God has ultimate control over the creation. Bringing order from chaos.

Heavens and the earth - a simple way to say “everything.”

Acts 17:24 ESV The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

​God Has a Plan

This means that everything we experience in this world is an extension of God. Not the other way around.

Practical implications: the environment (world) we live in is a mirror designed to reflect the glory of God (but is not God.).

God, who is the definition of good, looks at His creation and repeatedly declares it “good.”

Light: 1.4; Water & dry land: 1.10; plants: 1.12; Sun, moon, stars: 1.18; Fish & birds: 1.21; Animals: 1.25; Man as epitome of creation, summation of his work, very good: 1.31

Psalm 148:3–10 ESV

​He made it good to say something about Himself.

Romans 1:20 ESV

He originally made it good for us to manage.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

While “good” was cursed by the Fall, God still has a plan.

​God Has a Plan

In two weeks, we will cover the Fall of creation from goodness. Enough to say that everything went badly in .

Ephesians 1:8–10 ESV

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

This isn’t just for humanity but for all creation.

Romans 8:19 ESV

Romans 8:22 ESV

​Conclusion:

Why are WE here?

To be Christ’s agents in the plan.

But we have to start at the beginning to know where to go and why.

Welcome to Core52! This is the introduction to our year-long look at the 52 core verses and passages in the Bible and why it's so important that we become intimately familiar with them.

Check out our Facebook page for more resources: www.facebook.com/TCCChurch

Intro:

[VIDEO]

[SLIDE] Why don’t we read the Bible?

[SLIDE] Reasons given to Barna.

Effect on Behavior (stats)

the odds of giving in to temptation goes down when we engage with the Bible 4x or more per week:

At the same time, our emotional health improves:

Equally important are the positive effects:

[SLIDE] But we WANT to read it.

We know intuitively that reading the word transforms us.

Bible engagement is the single most powerful predictor of spiritual growth.

Relying solely on the pastor’s message.

Traditional sources of bible knowledge not available or taken advantage of.

Moving away from a print culture - image/video based.

The biggie: Not enough time, too busy (75% surveyed). Next largest group felt intimidated by trying to do regular/serious study.

As a result,  we’re not experiencing the transformation that God intends for us.

James 1:21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

​What If?

We could overcome the main objections of busyness and intimidation?

Learn the 52 core passages that unlock and illuminate the rest of the Bible. Create confidence and understanding for more study.

Based on 4x principle. Study shows that lasting transformation occurs only when we engage with the Bible 4x per week. (touches).

[SLIDE] 80/20 rule - Pareto principle. Expend effort in the most effective and efficient manner.

Learn the 52 core passages that unlock and illuminate the rest of the Bible. Create confidence and understanding for more study.

[SLIDE] Based on 4x principle. Study shows that lasting transformation occurs only when we engage with the Bible 4x per week. (touches).

Year-long focus on the Core 52 passages. Based on book by Mark Moore. (how I came to this decision.)

Year: Each week focused on a core verse or short passage. Major doctrines and principles of the Bible.

[SLIDE] Monthly focus: the Core passages we will be studying and learning. (bulletin, slide, FB)

Weekly:

Sundays: SS classes have the option to study along with us. Preaching.

[SLIDE] Weekly posts to social media with the memory verse, two videos by Dr. Moore: one will be a devotional about the topic, one is a memorization aid.

Weekly family devotional handouts for you to use.

Midweek “deep dive” with me on Wednesdays.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Isaiah 55:10–11 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. 11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Isaiah 55:11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Jon Acuff - Booty, God, Booty

• Lunch with friends – realized they did the same thing on Sunday mornings. Get in car, realize what’s on the radio and change the channel to Air 1.
• We’re all prone to this behavior.
• Highlights the challenge to live successfully as Christians and interact with our culture. 
  • Too often, though, we become so immersed in ways of thinking and patterns of living that we can’t recognize them. 

1. What do we mean by culture?
2. From Latin: cultura. Means “agriculture.” Idea is to cultivate, work, shape the land. 
3. Basically, culture is what humans do with the world around them. 
   1. “Culture is what human beings make of the world.” 
4. We see culture our music, movies, art, fashion, internet, advertising.
5. Influencers in our society modify our culture. We shape and mold it as surely as we are shaped by it.
6. As you can see, culture is powerful. It can be powerfully good or powerfully evil.
7. It’s also constantly changing. Technology, new ideas, events both local and global change and influence us.
8. It’s also unique to the local environment. What is culturally acceptable in one place isn’t in another.
9. Culture, then, tells us what is normal, acceptable among groups of people.
10. Here’s where the problem starts: What our society accepts as “normal” often doesn’t mesh with our Christian beliefs and practices.
11. Christian reactions to culture.
12. Sacred/Secular divide – false dichotomy.
13. We make church things “good” and world things “bad.”
14. This is the “line approach” to culture. Too simplistic. 
    1. Not everything labeled “Christian” is good. Not everything in the world is bad. 
    2. Where we draw the line is arbitrary. 
    3. Basically a reaction to culture, not a clear understanding of a biblical worldview. 
15. The line isn’t where we need to start.
16. 1 Peter 1:3–4 (NLT) 3All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.Jesus reaction to culture show us the way.
17. The way we navigate the culture successfully is to look to the true “captain” of our souls.
18. b. Give in or run away. 
    1. Mark 8:36 
    2. Matthew 6:24 
    3. 1 John 2:16 
19. c. Engage. 
    1. Matthew 5:14–16 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. 
    2. Matthew 28:18–19 (NLT) 18Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

Conclusion:

• Culture and the Christian.
• Are we just getting a little “inspirational vitamin” and calling it a Christian life?
• Is our instinct to simply run away from any activity, issue or person that threatens our belief system?
• We’re called to engage our world in the name of Jesus.

As we come to the last part of Colossians, the apostle Paul gives us some final direction on what a "Jesus Only" life looks like. It's characterized by wisdom.  This is the 8th and last sermon in my Colossians series. It was preached at Town & Country Christian Church in Bartlesville, Ok on Nov. 24, 2019.

Intro:

 [VIDEO]

Holiday stress.

Good timing as we finish Colossians today.

Paul’s practical advice on a “Jesus-only” lifestyle in terms of how we deal with the world around us.

It’s a great time of year for folks to make some decisions about their spirituality.

Colossians 4:2–4 NLT

2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 3 Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.

Alert mind - Pay attention both to what’s going on around you and also what you’re saying to God.

Thankful heart - Not just here at Thanksgiving but in continuous action.

1 Thessalonians 5:6 NLT

6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.

Here’s your action item:

Pray like Paul said, being alert for folks you know who need an opportunity to hear the gospel.

Colossians 4:5 NLT

5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.

Live (walk) wisely - our conduct is informed by wisdom.

Ephesians 4:23 NLT

23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

reinforces Paul’s direction from ch. 1:

Colossians 1:10 NLT

10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

Make the most of every opportunity - “buy back the time, redeem it”

How do we use our time?

Colossians 4:6 NLT

6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Gracious and attractive - lit. “seasoned with salt.”

In their context it meant “witty, smart.”

1 Peter 3:15 NLT

15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

Conclusion:

Going into the holidays:

Be alert for chances to pray for people around you.

Monitor your “walk.” 

Use the right kind of “salty” talk.

Here's #7 of 8 in my series on Colossians called "Jesus And..." This sermon was preached at Town & Country Christian Church on Nov. 17th, 2019.

Intro:

Relationship Tension video montage.

(clips from Big Fat Greek Wedding, Home Alone and Office Space.)

What do they all have in common? Relationships that are in tension.

Marriage, parenting, work.

Likely the top three stressed out set of relationships we have.

None of those handled well which is why it’s a little funny.

But...

The struggle is to live in these relationships in a “Jesus Only” way.

Review:

Colossians 3:12–15 NLT

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Basically, the same as Eph. 5:21 - submit to one another out of reverence for the Lord.

Paul addresses what it means to have a “Jesus Only” lifestyle in the most intimate of settings: Home and work.

He makes it clear that these relationships are based on being “in the Lord.” (or some variant)

Three groups are addressed: Marrieds, Parents, Boss/Workers

When these relationships have Jesus at the center, domination and exploitation are minimized and eventually overturned.

In the spirit of “submit to one another,” this is ultimately about respect.

A Message for Wives

Colossians 3:18 NLT

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.

Cultural expectations.

Note, “submit” not “obey.”

Not an uncritical obedience.

Different words, different emphasis.

Submit is voluntary cooperation.

Reference back to Gen. 2: Side by side. Gender equality, mutuality was the pre-Fall order of things.

So, ultimately, Jesus defines what submission looks like.

A Message for Husbands

Colossians 3:19 NLT

19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.

Husband get a strong message. Love.

Ephesians 5:25–26 NLT

25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.

Being loved in this way would make voluntary cooperation pretty simple, wouldn’t it?

Harsh - Embittering, making her a servant or slave.

GUT CHECK:

How are we doing in mutually submitting to one another? In voluntarily cooperating? In loving sacrificially?

Implications: Marry the right person, help  your kids marry the right person.

Become the right person.

A Message for Children

Colossians 3:20 NLT

20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord.

A direct message to kids. Rather unusual.

Exodus 20:12 NLT

12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Again, the intent is to reflect Christ in our relati

Here's the outline of the sermon I preached on 11/3 from Colossians 3:1-17. Hope you enjoy!

Intro:

Jekyll & Hyde, The Hulk

First “bookend” - you died to this world. Paradox of now but not yet.

glory

Colossians 3:1–4 NLT

1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

V. 1-4 -  Our moral vision - definition of right and wrong needs to be controlled by the reality inside us and what we will experience one day.

Transformation in our lives isn’t a “rehab” or “renewal” of the old person. 

We’re not slapping a new coat of paint on our old ways of thinking and doing things.

Recall earlier:

Colossians 2:22–23 NLT

22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

Colossians 3:5–9 NLT

5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.

Getting into the struggle we still have as we interact with the fallen creation:

Vices - immorality, sinfulness, evil.

First section is about desires, idolatry. Illustrated by sexual sin.

God gets angry at sin. He does not wink at it.

Habakkuk 1:13 NLT

13 But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?

v. 10 - We now have a moral free-will choice. Unlike Dr. Jekyll or Dr. Bruce Bannon, we don’t have to submit to our dark nature.

Why? Because we died to sin once and now, daily, submit ourselves to God. We are works in progress.

The truth is we are either dead IN sin or dead TO sin.

Romans 12:1–2 NLT

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Colossians 3:10–11 NLT

10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

V. 10 brings to mind 1:15ff where Paul tel

Preached on 10/27.

Intro:

Teenage lawyers.

“Days & Diets” folks.

Colossians 2:16–17 NLT

16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.

“condemn you” = Pressure, make rules, criticize you, dictate your behaviors.

Paul consistently argues that Christians are free to do what their conscience dictates and to avoid being overly scrupulous.

Romans 14:17 NLT

17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:20 NLT

20 Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble.

Shadows - Not the real deal. (Dr. Pepper vs. Dr. Thunder)

Basically, “avoid living in a shadow world”

Colossians 2:18–19 NLT

18 Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.

Hyperdenial

Condemn = a referee disqualifying you from the prize without cause.

Some thought the way to true spirituality was through denying the body and striving for visions of angelic beings.

They were falling into the trap of false humility (humble brag).

Because not connected to Christ. (Key thought; and the antidote to teenage lawyerism).

Colossians 2:20–21 NLT

20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”?

It’s a rhetorical question based on “if…then.”

If (or since) you died (lit. drowned) with Christ, why follow old, worn out rules?

We let the practical issues of the world become the reference points for spiritual development rather than the other way around.

Colossians 2:22 NLT

22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.

Relying on a rules-based morality for our behavior doesn’t work very well.

the “rules” are always changing in the world.

90 year old lady who was certain she was a good Christian because she had never played cards or gone to the movies.

If that’s our rules-based moral standard, we’re all in trouble in the 21st century as we are surrounded by streaming media and games constantly.

Colossians 2:23 NLT

23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

Conclusion:

Losing the “teenage lawyer” syndrome. Growing out of it.

Not based on following some set of rules or denying ourselves.

Based on staying connected to Christ.

Next lesson we’ll see how that pulls together practically.

​